A weekend telephone call between US President Donald Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen gave ‘new impetus’ to trade talks, the EU said on Monday, after Trump dropped his threat to impose 50 per cent tariffs on imports from the European Union next month.

Trump restored a July 9 deadline to allow for talks between Washington and the 27-nation bloc to produce a deal after what he said was “a very nice call” with von der Leyen on Sunday, which an EU spokesperson said had been initiated by her.

“There’s now also a new impetus for the negotiations, and we will take it from there,” the spokesperson said. “They both agreed to fast-track the trade negotiations and to stay in close contact,” they added. German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche called for tariff negotiations to proceed calmly. “We have to find a common path,” she said.

Trump had said on Friday that he was recommending a 50 per cent tariff effective from June 1, expressing frustration that trade negotiations with the EU were not moving quickly enough.

The threat roiled global financial markets and intensified a trade war that has been punctuated by frequent changes in tariff policies toward US trading partners and allies.

The US president’s softened stance two days later marked another temporary reprieve in his erratic trade policy. Von der Leyen said in a post on X that she had a “good call” with Trump and that the EU was ready to move quickly. “Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively,” she said. “To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9.”

The euro hit a one-month high against the dollar on Monday, while European shares surged and were poised to recoup the previous session’s losses.